Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol.8, No.15, 2017 Gaming in Education: Using Games as a Support Tool to Teach History Victor Samuel Zirawaga * Adeleye Idowu Olusanya Tinovimbanashe Maduku Faculty of Applied Science, Cyprus International University, Nicosia, Turkey Abstract The use of current and emerging tools in education is becoming a blistering topic among educators and educational institutions. Gaming in education may be viewed as an interference to learning but its role in education is to increase students’ motivation and engagement, to enhance visual skills, to improve students’ interaction and collaboration abilities with their peers and to enable them to apply gaming values in a real-world situation. Educational technology is being used to simplify and improve learning but using technology in education does not directly impact student achievement as the technology tools have to be in line with the curriculum for them to be effective. This paper discusses the implementation and use of gaming applications in teaching History, a subject which is mainly concerned about facts, by highlighting the role games have in education. The design of games such as word search, crossword, jigsaw puzzle, brain teasers and sliding puzzle using an open source tool called ProProfs is also discussed in this paper. Keywords: Achievement, Educational technology, Gaming, Simulations 1. Introduction A game is a type of play where participants follow defined rules. (Houghton et al., 2013) discusses educational games as the utilization of games to support teaching and learning. Games can be used as a support tool to complement traditional teaching methods to improve the learning experience of the learners while also teaching other skills such as following rules, adaptation, problem solving, interaction, critical thinking skills, creativity, teamwork, and good sportsmanship. Learning should not feel dull and it should not only mean rote memorization where students learn and grasp concepts through repetition or cramming. Teachers can take advantage of the energy and innovative thinking that is provided by using technology in learning to improve student performance. 1.1 Aims i. To develop an enthusiastic learner. ii. To motivate and engage students. iii. Reduce monotonous learning methods. iv. To help students with focus, self-esteem, and memory. 1.2 Limitations Limited time to experiment. Using open source applications – Moodle is an open source application which offers a demo mode where teachers can edit and upload content. The demo period expires after 60 minutes and all content will be reset. ProProfs is also on open source application with restrictions which limit the application development process. 1.3 Overview of Games in Education Many different types of educational games are being applied and used in educational institutions, schools and homes. Using games in education mostly focuses on improving critical thinking skills while teaching a particular subject, by allowing students to think outside the box as they follow rules. There are other games that can be used which limit to improving knowledge in a specific subject and the most popular ones are math games. (Yue, & Zin, 2009) discussed that games like chess cannot be viewed as educational games as these improve logic skills, reasoning, and other traits valued in education but they are not considered educational because they do not deliver content or relay curriculum material. Games that incorporate curriculum content or other educational material are referred to as educational games (Michel, 2016). 1.4 Roles of Games in Education (Boyle, 2011) posits that games play a vital role in building students’ self-confidence. As educational tools, games are constructive as they liven up teaching methods which are normally considered dull and boring. 1.4.1 Advantages of using Games in Education i. Engage students The major role of applying technology is to engage students and to encourage students to participate. The use of games in education plays an important role in engaging students by encouraging a hands on approach. 55 Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol.8, No.15, 2017 ii. Help students remember The use of games in education aims to help students remember what they have learnt as active participation is encouraged. Learning should not mean rote memorization but students can use games to remember the critical points which they can apply in their examinations as well as in real-world situations. iii. Visual and computer literacy This is something which is vital in light of the fact that we live in a world which is ruled by innovation. By playing games, students gain visual and computer literacy skills which will prepare them for the world of work. iv. Rule following and problem-solving skills Game drills are based on rule following and students are required to follow rules inorder to achieve a high score and move to the next stage. Students can easily apply this knowledge in real world situations as they are encouraged to think outside the box. v. Beneficial for students with attention disorders Using games can help capture students attention as this is considered to be a fun way of learning. Research conducted has discovered that web based games can assist kids who experience attention problems. vi. Teach other skills Games can also be used to teach other skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, sportsmanship, interaction and collaboration with peers. This helps in creating less stifled individuals who are not limited but can adapt to any real world situation. 1.4.2 Disadvantages of using Games in Education However, gaming in education has setbacks which need to be addressed. i. Providing a platform for students to play revision games becomes a challenge when teachers or instructors cannot control such an environment. Students can have access to other platforms which are harmful. ii. Students who rely on games are often secluded from real life interaction. iii. Using computers and other electronic devices can cause health hazards such as eye strain and other physical problems. iv. The technologies required for full participation can be quite expensive and this can create a gap between the students who have access to the technologies and those who do not have access. The diagram below summarizes the role of games in education. Fig 1: Role of games in education (Boyle, 2011) 1.5 Teaching History The nature of History as a subject makes it necessary for current and emerging tools to be introduced to support the main delivery of instruction. History is a subject that deals with facts which need to be remembered as they are, as compared to subjects like Mathematics and Science which seem to be more important. The way History is viewed as a subject of little importance in the world will affect the way students view the course and they might not feel the need to learn in order to grasp terms and concepts but to learn just so they can do well in the exam and forget about the course. Applying gaming theories in History will enable the students to see the course in a different way as History offers more than an update of past events. The need to engage students in such a course is becoming more apparent so that students remember what they learn even for future purposes. The aim of adding History module to Arts students in their final year of undergraduate studies is to ensure that the graduates have no challenges in securing gratifying jobs in a wide variety of occupations such as news reporting, child psychology and graduates can also expand into careers in finance, business, and consultancy in law and public administration, journalism broadcasting, and also in teaching and research 56 Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol.8, No.15, 2017 depending on the majors they select. 2. Literature Review (Aleson-Carbonell, & Guillén-Nieto, 2012) discussed the importance of games in education is indisputable as the potential advantages of utilizing instructive recreations to supplement customary classroom direction are certain. (Burke, 2016) discussed the quick infiltration of progressively refined advances into each feature of society is bringing about noteworthy movements in how, when, and where we work, how people, organizations, and even countries comprehend and compose themselves, and how educational systems ought to be organized. (Charsky, 2010) portray how edutainment and instructional PC games where seen as the friend in need of education on account of their capacity to at the same time educate and entertain. There are complexities involved in identifying and classifying games that can be used for education. Some perspective them as a continuum (Aldrich, 2009), while others see every one of them as various classes of the similar thing (Hendrix, & Backlund, 2013). (Boyle, 2011) highlighted that as pedagogical gadgets, games are greatly valuable as they can charge instructing points and are particularly successful for developing the basic intellectual abilities of the learners. Games have an unique part in building students’ self confidence and they can lessen the gap amongst quicker and slower learners. In any case, the effective application of learning theories in higher education has an impact on student performance. According to (Ben-Ari, 1998) constructivist practices in computer science education put the desires on students to find information without anyone else's input when put in the suitable circumstance. (Bi, 2013) asserted that learners build new information from their encounters through the procedures of settlement and osmosis. Truth be told, osmosis is the procedure of fusing new learning into a current schema while settlement adjusts to accommodate new knowledge . For instance, (Ben-Ari, 1998) found that information is obtained recursively: tangible information is consolidated with existing learning to make new cognitive structures, which are in turn the basis for further development.